The North Co-champion Michigan Technological University will enjoy the luxury of a seasoned quarterback entering 2013. Junior Tyler Scarlett enters his third season at the controls, having already tallied the two highest passing yardage season totals in school history. He’ll be working with a significant number of new faces, however. Three of 2012’s top ball carriers have departed, as have almost all last year’s receivers. Coach Tom Kearly has proven in the past that he can plug new players into key positions, and if Scarlett has any Tom Brady in him, he may just surprise everyone with how he can keep the offense churning regardless of who the other players might be.

On defense, it seems like no matter what year it is, the Huskies have players at defensive end that make everyone else in the league take notice. This season should be no exception, as Cameron Allen and Nelson Wienke return after All-GLIAC nods a year ago. The outside of the secondary is also solid, as experience returns in DeShawn Nelson, who led the league in passes defended.

The Huskies hit the road three times in their first four weeks this year, but they enjoy the opposite trend at the close of the slate when they stay in Houghton for three of their final four tilts. A week-five trip to Grand Valley State University will be circled on the calendar after a wild one in Houghton a year ago, and a week later the Huskies will host archrival Northern Michigan University for the Miner’s Cup.